I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new method and apparatus for cleaning and treating teeth and gums, and in particular, to a new method and apparatus of interrupting and arresting the natural formation of plaque and calculus on teeth.
II. Prior Art and Other Considerations
In 1832 Professor Joseph Faraday demonstrated that if a fluid is passed across the lines of force of a magnetic field, an electrical current is produced. In 1879 Professor E. H. Hall discovered that when a fluid is passed across the lines of force of a magnetic field, thereby producing the Faraday Current, a drift force is also created which tends to separate the charged particles which occur naturally in the fluid due to the process known as ionization.
Ionization is the natural process of the exchange, gain or loss, of electrons between atoms or molecules. It is this process which accounts for the formation and build-up of plaque and calculus deposits on teeth.
The use of magnetic fields to treat various properties of fluids, particularly water, is well-known within the realm of industrial and/or commercial activity. Typically, such treatment has been used in the prevention of scale build-up or to prevent the formation of encrustations on surfaces generally associated with the various aqueous environments inherent to such industrial or commercial activities. Devices for propelling pulsating jet streams of fluid against the surfaces of teeth and gums for the purpose of oral hygiene are well-known in the prior art.
The problem of "mineral scaling" in the mouth is caused by the secretion of naturally occurring minerals through the saliva glands. These minerals mix with the bacteria plaque line. If not removed within approximately 24 hours, the formation will harden into what is commonly called calculus. The build-up occurs much as a coral reef is formed and works below the gum line. Bacteria utilizes this area of calculus build-up as a breeding ground from which bone and soft tissue are attacked.
Dental diseases are caused by microbial infections involving identified microbial populations. These populations utilize colonization as a pathogenic modality and colonization is thought to be dependent upon plaque formation. Accordingly, by the prevention of plaque and calculus formation on teeth, dental diseases could also be prevented.
There exists, therefore, a need for a method and device which will stop and reverse the formation of plaque and calculus on teeth, however, due to the presence of electrovalent bonding, the removal of plaque and calculus, once formed, from the surfaces of teeth presents a very difficult task. At the present time, devices or method for the "effective" removal of plaque and calculus from the surface of teeth are limited to either the metal tools and procedures used by dentists or dental personnel to scrape away such build-up or to the use of ultra sonic techniques. While both techniques have generally proven to be effective in removing plaque and calculus from the surfaces of teeth, neither technique is available to the general public without professional supervision and/or assistance and the associated expense.